Nintendo has announced the passing of its President, Satoru Iwata, due to complications stemming from a growth in his bile duct.

“Nintendo Co Ltd deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.” said a very brief statement released by Nintendo earlier today. The statement, which was geared towards Japanese investors, went on to reaffirm the two remaining Representative Directors: Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto.

Satoru Iwata, December 6, 1959 – July 11, 2015

Prior to his role at Nintendo, Satoru Iwata worked for Nintendo subsidiary HAL Laboratory, beginning first as a programmer for the company and later working his way all the way up to President. Under his guidance, HAL Laboratory would become responsible for such classics as EarthBound, the Super Smash Bros. series, a number of Pokemon spin-off’s, and the Kirby series of games.

The success of Iwata at HAL Laboratory, as well as the close working relationship between HAL Laboratory and Nintendo, inspired then Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi to hire Iwata on as the director of Nintendo’s Corporate Planning Division in 2000. From there, Iwata was groomed by the ageing Yamauchi to take over as President of Nintendo, to which he was appointed following Yamauchi’s retirement in 2002.

Since taking over as President of Nintendo, Iwata oversaw a resurgence in sales and strength of the Nintendo brand. He oversaw the launch of the Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS handheld systems, and in 2006 Iwata helped reshape the industry with the launch of the incredibly successful Wii.

Health problems began taking their toll for Iwata in 2014, when it was announced that he would be missing that year’s E3 events in order to have a medical procedure done. He then missed an annual shareholders meeting which was held later in the same month. Iwata issued an open letter to the shareholders explaining his absence as due to the removal of a growth on his bile duct.

“Recently, as the result of one of my routine physical examinations, an issue was detected. Following a more detailed examination, a growth was found in my bile duct.”

“I was counseled that removal at an early stage would be the desirable medical option. Therefore I had surgery last week, and I came through it well, as predicted.”

Kirby was perhaps the most iconic character created at HAL Laboratory

Iwata resumed his duties in October of 2014, hosting a number of Nintendo Direct video messages and presumably, launching the initiative for Nintendo’s next foray; the NX.

Eyebrows were again raised earlier in 2015 when it was announced that Iwata would again not be attending E3. Iwata’s stated reason at the time was that Nintendo was not launching new hardware this year, and that he wanted to keep the Japanese fans up to date with Nintendo’s E3 announcements via Twitter.

“With the exception of last year, I’ve been going to the E3 every year. However, as there’s no new hardware to present this year and considering the fact that a general meeting of shareholders is planned for the week following the E3, I will remain in Japan this year. My role at E3 this year is to relay everything happening at E3 to everyone that’s in Japan.” said Iwata via Twitter.

Satoru Iwata was only the fourth President in the history of Nintendo as well as the first in the company’s history to not be a part of the Yamauchi family. The previous three Presidents were:

• Fusajiro Yamauchi (1889 – 1929)
• Sekiryo Yamauchi (1929 – 1949)
• Hiroshi Yamauchi (1949 – 2002)

“On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.” — Satoru Iwata GDC 2005

Our hearts and prayers go out Satoru Iwata’s family, friends, and colleagues.